New photos of rare "Nintendo Dolphin" GameCube prototype surface

Nintendo loves their codenames for hardware, and diehard Nintendo fans know most of them. While some are little forgettable compared to others, there’s no doubt the GameCube’s “Dolphin” codename is one of the most well-known. That’s the name Nintendo was going with while figuring out the path ahead for their next console, and now some of that Dolphin history has found its way online.

For decades now, just one blurry photo of a GameCube prototype has been making its way around the internet. This device came back from when Nintendo was calling the platform the Nintendo Dolphin internally. Today, it appears that a group of dedicated console historians have gotten their hands on that prototype.

Shared by ConsoleVariations , as you can see at the top of this post, we have a brand-new look at the Nintendo Dolphin in all of its glory. While there’s no mistaking it for anything other than a GameCube, you can easily see some of the differences in the prototype design and the final release. One of the biggest changes is the logo, which certainly underwent some considerable tweaking before release.

It’s not clear how ConsoleVariations came across the Nintendo Dolphin, and they’re obviously going to keep that quiet, as Nintendo’s feathers will certainly be ruffled by seeing this device online. We’ll keep an eye out for more pictures of the Nintendo Dolphin going forward, but there’s no doubt Nintendo’s ninjas are watching closely as well!